Limerick man headed to prison for heroin-fueled burglary spree

NORRISTOWN — A Limerick man has joined his friend and conspirator in state prison for his role in a heroin-fueled residential burglary spree that targeted homeowners in Montgomery and Berks counties.

Michael Raymond Benner Jr., 29, of the 100 block of West Ridge Pike, showed no emotion and declined to answer a reporter’s questions as he left a Montgomery County courtroom in handcuffs facing a 1.5- to 10-year state prison sentence in connection with break-ins that occurred between July 2012 and January 2013 which netted nearly $100,000 in jewelry and family heirlooms. Benner previously pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and conspiracy.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a sentencing agreement, also ordered Benner to share with his co-conspirator, Joseph Anthony Samsel Jr., in the payment of about $92,000 in restitution to the victims of the burglaries.

Samsel, 25, who resided at the same West Ridge Pike address, pleaded guilty to burglary-related charges and was sentenced on Wednesday to 1½ to eight years in state prison for his role as the getaway driver during the burglaries. Samsel, according to testimony, told authorities that “heroin played a big part in these burglaries.”

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Carpenter, at the request of defense lawyer Pietro D’Angelo, recommended Benner be incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Chester, Delaware County, which offers treatment programs for drug dependent offenders. A judge previously recommended Samsel be housed at the same prison for his heroin addiction.

As he did against Samsel, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Green II sought a state prison sentence against Benner. Green previously argued that the pair violated the sense of security of the victims and stole family heirlooms, things like wedding rings, which had been passed from generation to generation. Many of the victims, Green said, were devastated because of the loss of sentimental items that can never be replaced.

One victim, in a letter to the judge, expressed that jewelry spanning more than 50 years of marriage was stolen and that tangible memories of her late husband were lost.

With the charges, authorities alleged Benner and Samsel worked as a team, breaking into houses during the day. Most of the homes were located off roadways and not easily observed from the road, court papers indicate.

The burglaries primarily took place in Montgomery County but two were in Berks County. The break-ins occurred in Limerick, New Hanover, Lower Providence, Lower Frederick, Salford, Upper Salford and Robeson townships, according to court papers.

Samsel drove the getaway car while Benner went inside some of the houses, according to court papers. But if someone was in the home he approached, Benner would tell the homeowner he was looking for a person who did not live at the house, then leave, according to arrest documents.

The investigation that led to the arrests began on Jan. 3, when Limerick police were dispatched to a home in the 100 block of Limerick Center Road where the homeowner said he had an encounter with a suspicious person, according to court documents. The homeowner said the suspect had a tattoo on the front of his neck, and the description given matched that of Benner.

The homeowner also identified a blue Hyundai parked in his driveway at the time of the incident. Police traced the vehicle to the owner, who told police that Samsel was driving it while he was contemplating purchasing it, according to court papers.

Police discovered that on two previous occasions at nearby residences, homeowners encountered the same man with the tattoo who claimed to be looking for an individual that did not live there. The man left in a blue car, according to court papers.

During the investigation, police conducted surveillance on the Hyundai vehicle and upon their arrests, Benner and Samsel agreed to show detectives the homes they were responsible for burglarizing, court papers indicate.